Stocks were indicated marginally higher on Tuesday, but it feels like the market is just looking for direction ahead of the Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting and ahead of next week’s election, which felt like it would never get here. Investors have been able to look past high valuations and not get tired despite the bull market now being closer to eight years old than seven. They have bought every single pullback for five years now. Investors also are looking for new ideas for gains and income as we head into 2017.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst upgrades and downgrades each day to find new trading and investing ideas for its readers. Some of the analyst calls cover stocks to buy, and some cover stocks to sell or avoid.

Somehow, some way, it is already November. Here are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday morning:

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy with a $65 price target (versus a $55.40 prior close) at Raymond James. Baker Hughes is in a deal to merge with GE’s Oil & Gas unit, and this removes the formal buyout hopes that have been in place for years (and GE used to be a rumored suitor over the past decade). Atlantic Equities raised Baker Hughes to Neutral from Underweight.

Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets. Shares rose almost 22% to $10.60 on Monday on buyout hopes, and the stock was indicated up 3.7% at $11.00 on Tuesday. This one has routinely appeared in our Analyst Stocks Under $10 features and has been considered buyout bait for almost a decade.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) was maintained as Underperform at Jefferies and the price target was cut to $20 from $24 (versus a $26.58 close, after a 12.5% drop). The firm noted that the Level 3 buyout does not resolve its long-term concerns and falls short in transforming the business.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley and the price target was raised to $130 from $115. It was also added to the Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy list on Monday, with numerous analyst calls liking Chevron now much more than Exxon Mobil in the current energy price environment.

Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight and the price target was cut to $20 (versus a $26.34 close) at Morgan Stanley.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) was raised to Hold from Sell with a $35 price target (versus a $32.10 close) at Societe Generale.

You can follow @Jonogg on Twitter if you want the daily analyst calls and research updates directly on your Twitter feed.

Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations were seen in the following:

Amec Foster Wheeler PLC (NYSE: AMFW) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays, and shares were last seen indicated down over 3% at $5.23 on Tuesday morning.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO) was started with a Neutral rating at Merrill Lynch.

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $70 price target (versus a $72.19 close) at Mizuho.

Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) is being acquired and so analysts are downgrading the stock. It was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC and to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Guggenheim.

Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG) was started with a Neutral rating and was assigned a $52 price target (versus a $52.63 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Sangamo BioSciences Inc. (NASDAQ: SGMO) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $4 price target (versus a $3.55 close) at Wedbush Securities. The firm said that management’s overhaul solidifies its foundation but creates a pipeline gap and a lack of catalysts until 2018.

SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $130 price target (versus a $122.27 close) at Barclays.

Team Health Holdings Inc. (NYSE: TMH) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets after news of it being acquired. It was cut to Hold at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, and Wells Fargo downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform.

Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Citigroup.

Waste Connections Inc. (NYSE: WCN) was started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM) was started with a Sell rating and assigned a $63 price target (versus a $65.66 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Here are six major infrastructure stocks that will win regardless of whether Clinton or Trump is president.

Big upside analyst calls were seen in Apple, GE and Merck after earnings.

Monday’s top analyst calls included AbbVie, Chevron, Home Depot, Nike, Qualcomm, VMware and many more.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.